Free cavity wall insulation

realh

We quite often get people coming to the door offering free cavity wall insulation through a government grant scheme. The first time the salesman said it was unlikely they could do the job because there are garages too close to both sides of the house, and a surveyor confirmed they couldn't do it. Our neighbour's garage is actually closer than ours, and she's very fussy about letting workmen on top of it, even though it's solidly built, so when we had the gutters etc replaced we had to pay extra for scaffolding they didn't really need.

A few years later another company offered to do it from the inside, which we agreed to, because all the rooms were, and still are, overdue for redecoration anyway. We asked the salesman, don't we have to at least clear the shelves, but he said don't worry about that. When the workmen turned up they said that they couldn't do it because every item of furniture had to be removed and they'd probably need the floorboards up too.

More recently another pair of salesmen cold-called. When we explained the situation they said the other companies were "lazy" and they would get it done somehow, but didn't explain how. They even drilled a hole in the wall for a "survey". We haven't heard from them again.

Another one turned up last week. He assured me that he'd been to more difficult homes than ours and been present when the job was done, but again he didn't really explain how they'd solve the problem of access to the side walls, and accused the previous companies of being lazy, claiming things have changed and they really have to do the work now. This company is called Southern Energy Solutions, based in Fareham.

Is this the same old story again, or a genuine offer? I suspect most of these salesmen are earning commission on booking jobs that they know full well aren't going to be carried out in the end, and getting away with it because the money comes from the Government and nobody's checking it's being used properly.

cheesemelts

I have been thinking about cavity wall insulation for ages, I have heard that it does stop mice and birds running inside the walls.

Kernel_Sanders

cheesemelts wrote: »

I have been thinking about cavity wall insulation for ages, I have heard that it does stop mice and birds running inside the walls.

Yep, it slows 'em down no end.

cyclonebri1

Kernel_Sanders wrote: »

Yep, it slows 'em down no end.

Yep stops them running about, they are too busy nesting.

A relative of mine has a similar problem, they got through a damaged external air brick, chewed up the CWI and then straight through a plaster internal grill, It just happened to come out into the kitchen pantry, lovely.:eek:


Are the free insulation grants still available????
I thought you had to be pretty poor of and live in a deprived area or similar since Oct 2012??

realh

Looks like this was another bunch of cowboys, they haven't called back either.

cyclonebri1

realh wrote: »

Looks like this was another bunch of cowboys, they haven't called back either.

No, the cowboys will be the ones that do it regradless of the fact that it can't be done effectively in your home, but they will take the money regardless.

Look on it as a company that along with a few others, don't think it viable.

Dave_Hall

As a friend directed me to this post, I thought I'd reply.
Whilst we have a fond affection for horses, we aren't a bunch of cowboys - we don't look that good in the gear :-(

The sales are carried out by an external company that we have a long standing relationship with, we only follow up leads internally if we are contacted directly by the public (through word of mouth etc).

It is still possible to insulate *some* properties free of charge under an incentive called ECO (Energy companies obligation). The cavity needs to be classed as "hard to treat".
A few things that count towards it are:
If the cavity is 3 stories or above, i.e. town house or block of flats.
If the cavity is less than 50mm.
If remediation works need to be carried out prior to the ability for works to commence. This could be brickwork repointing, even clearing the guttering!
If the property can be classed as 'exposed' (to driven wind/rain) - This is usually for properties on/along the coastline.

There are others, but I won't bore you with the details here.

I do apologise that the sales team haven't got back in touch with you, and if you'd like to send me a private message, I will investigate in to why they haven't, and suitable lashings/stonings will be carried out in a public place.

Likewise, I'm happy to answer any other questions regarding Cavity Wall/External wall insulation that people may have.

Cheers :-)

Dave H.

realh

Sorry for the implication that your company is a bunch of cowboys. It's the salesmen I have a problem with, not the people who do the work.

The difficulty in our case is access to the side walls because of nearby garages. The salesman said it wouldn't matter but didn't explain how it would be solved. What actually can be done about it?

Apart from that, I don't think the difficulties you mentioned apply to us. Would the access problem or the fact that two of us are on disability benefits still qualify us for free insulation?

By the way, is it likely that a salesman would attend the actual work?

Dave_Hall

realh wrote: »

Sorry for the implication that your company is a bunch of cowboys. It's the salesmen I have a problem with, not the people who do the work.

The difficulty in our case is access to the side walls because of nearby garages. The salesman said it wouldn't matter but didn't explain how it would be solved. What actually can be done about it?

Apart from that, I don't think the difficulties you mentioned apply to us. Would the access problem or the fact that two of us are on disability benefits still qualify us for free insulation?

By the way, is it likely that a salesman would attend the actual work?

Afternoon.
No need for apologies, we have been called much worse in our time! :-)

It does sound like it may have been an inexperienced salesman that visited you, if we are unable to physically get down the side of the garages, the chances are we can't get in to fill the cavity! unless we can fill the cavity from the inside (which in most cases, wouldn't be welcomed by the homeowner).

Is it possible to contact me via PM to send me your address so I can investigate in to this please, and then I will be able to give you a definitive answer as to if we can/cannot complete the installation (assuming you would still like it to go ahead!).

Alternatively please feel free to call us on our office number of 01329 808008.

Regards,

Dave H.

EDIT: In most cases, no the salesman wouldn't attend the actual installation. However, we do allow our installers to try and obtain their own leads, so if it was one of them who brought the lead in, then, yes, there is every chance they may be the ones completing it!

EDIT 2: (I really need to read messages thoroughly before replying). If there is no way of classifying your property as "hard to treat", we unfortunately wouldn't be able to carry out the installation, as our funding falls under the CERO category. It is installers that have CSCO funding that are able to install on a means tested basis.